Origins: This e-mail decrying the use of Chinese firms in preference to American ones to rebuild bridges in the U.S. that began circulating on the internet in February 2012 is a mixture of truth and falsehood. While it is true Chinese firms have been awarded contracts to refurbish some bridges within the U.S., the work on the I-635 in Dallas is not one of them. It’s also not true that President Obama (or anyone else at the federal level) has “approved” the selection of Chinese firms for these projects.

The video often linked to in this e-mail is of an ABC World Newssegment titled “U.S. Bridges, Roads Being Built by Chinese Firms” which aired on 23 September 2011

as part of that show’s “Bringing America Back” series. While Diane Sawyer was the news anchor who introduced the piece, the reporter who researched the story and presented it on camera was Chris Cuomo.

The news clip made reference to three recent major infrastructure projects that went to Chinese firms: a $400 million renovation of the Alexander Hamilton bridge in New York, a $7.2 billion new bridge to connect San Francisco and Oakland in California, and a proposed $190 million bridge project in Alaska.

Despite the assertion “Obama has approved for Chinese contractors to come in and do the work,” as is stated in the video that the e-mail directs readers to, “U.S. law requires major infrastructure projects to buy American if the cost difference is reasonable.” No one at the federal level (President Obama included) has “approved” the use of non-U.S. contractors for these jobs. Federal ‘Buy American’ laws constrict the flow of federal monies that would help fund infrastructure projects when states choose non-U.S. contractors in preference to American ones.

As stated in that September 2011 video: “New York and California refused Federal monies to assist them in their bridge reconstruction projects, thereby freeing them to select Chinese firms for those jobs. In California, U.S. firms say they would have met those guidelines but state officials decided turn down federal money for a major part of the bridge, allowing a Chinese company to get the job.”

Regarding the relative wisdom of California’s choice to turn down federal monies and instead hire a Chinese firm to build its bridge, the New York Times reported in June 2011 that:

The assembly work in California, and the pouring of the concrete road surface, will be done by Americans. But construction of the bridge decks and the materials that went into them are a Made in China affair. California officials say the state saved hundreds of millions of dollars by turning to China.

The expansion of the I-635 (LBJ Express) in Dallas is being carried out by LBJ Infrastructure Group, a conglomerate of a number of U.S. and international companies, including Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte (Spain), Meridiam Infrastructure Finance (Luxembourg), Macquarie Capital (Australia), Ferrovial Agroman (Spain), W.W. Webber (USA), and Bridgefarmer & Associates (USA).

Barbara “bridge mixture” Mikkelson

Last updated: 17 September 2012

Sources:

Barboza, David. “Bridge Comes to San Francisco with a Made-in-China Label.”